As Morty who'd once been trapped in the skin of a straight-A student—stepped out into the familiar yet unfamiliar world of Rick and Morty, his mind buzzed with a methodical, precise, and systematic series of calculations, into place in the midst of chaos. He wasn't sure how or why he'd been brought here, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized something. It didn't matter.
The events of the past were still fresh in his mind, like static buzzing in the back of his brain. He could almost hear Rick's slurred voice, the weight of the old man's hand on his shoulder. "100 years, Morty... Buuurp," it echoed like a mantra in his head. But more than the words, more than Rick's drunken babble, there was something else that Morty couldn't shake: The inevitability of it all. If he didn't make a plan, the chaotic nonsense that followed Rick and Morty would swallow him whole, just like it always did for that version of the boy on the show. He needed to act quickly, and logically, before it was too late.
He knew that Rick's habit of "winging it" was exactly why Morty had nearly died—and if he wasn't careful, it could be the same story for him in this new life.
"First things first," he muttered to himself, pacing as he made a mental checklist. "I'm not going to let Rick drag me into his messes." he whispered confidently in his dark room.
He was going to be smarter than Morty. Smarter than anyone in this universe, really.
With his future knowledge, he had the upper hand over everyone, and wouldn't be dragged into any more adventures without preparation.
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the next day..
He had already been dragged into Rick's nonsense, and the episode playing out in front of him now—the events from Lawnmower Dog—was not going to be another one of those situations. Morty knew what was coming. He could practically hear the opening lines of the episode playing in his head: "We're gonna go to the dream dimension, Morty!"
But Morty wasn't going to let that happen. Not this time. Not today.
He stood at the breakfast table, staring across at Jerry with a slightly condescending expression. He was fumbling with the cereal box the usual awkward tension in the room filled the space. Beth was busy on her phone, scrolling through whatever nonsense her job required her to look at, while Summer pretended to listen to the conversation about some trivial topic no one cared about.
Rick came in shortly after, stumbling into the kitchen with that familiar, irritable air about him. He looked like he had a plan, an insane plan, and Morty could already feel the unease in his stomach.
Morty's mind immediately clicked to the episode where Rick had experimented on the family dog, transforming him into a super-intelligent being, a full-blown cyborg. This was the moment where everything could go south, but Morty had time to change the course of the story, time to prevent Snuffles from becoming a weapon of mass destruction
"Morty, we're going to need to talk about Snuffles," Rick slurred, holding up a strange device—a metallic collar with some sort of blue core in the middle.
See this he spoke up "Rick what are you planning to do with that" he said in a steady tone.
Rick raised an eyebrow and let out a dismissive grunt. "Oh, Morty, this is going to be big, Morty. Huge! *burrp* W-Where making Snuffles smart".
The whole family was now glancing at rick each with their own feeling about the situation, when he spoke up "We don't need a smart dog. It's gonna backfire. It always backfires, you've seen the shows, y'know what happens when we give a dog human intelligence." appealing to the families knowledge about these sorts of gadgets.
Rick ignored him, rummaging through his scattered notes. "You're not getting it, Morty," Rick grumbled, his voice slurring. "We give him more intelligence, more control over his thoughts—he'll be able to understand and fix all the stupid stuff you people mess up. You'll see. I'm helping him."
Morty felt a cold weight settle in his chest as Rick brushed aside his warnings, acting like Morty was just some dumb kid who didn't understand the genius at play. He watched as Rick fiddled with the collar, his fingers quick and unsteady, and Morty knew—knew—that if this collar went on Snuffles, it would be a disaster. This was where everything started to go wrong, and Morty couldn't let that happen.
"Rick, listen to me!" Morty pressed, trying to keep his voice steady, though his heart was pounding in his chest. "You can't just give a dog human intelligence, okay? It doesn't end well! Remember all the other times you've messed with nature like this?"
Rick didn't even glance up from his work, his face lit up by the glow of his garage experiments. "Oh please, Morty, you've been watching too many shows. This is real science. Not some cartoon, Morty. I'm gonna give Snuffles the ability to reason, to plan, to fix problems... and it's gonna be amazing."
"Rick!" Morty snapped, his mind racing.
Rick's face hardened for a moment, a flash of irritation crossing his features. He waved Morty off with an exaggerated flick of his hand, clearly dismissing his concerns. "You're not thinking big enough, Morty. A dog with intelligence this advanced could solve all our problems. Think about it: no more picking up after him, no more stupid pet behavior. Hell, maybe Snuffles could even talk. Wouldn't that be something?"
Morty's mind was in overdrive now, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. He couldn't let Rick do this, but he couldn't let Snuffles think he was against him, either. Morty needed to tread carefully. If Snuffles knew that Morty didn't want him to get smarter, it could drive a wedge between them. Snuffles had to stay loyal to Morty, but Morty also had to make sure Rick didn't cross this line.
In that moment, Morty saw Snuffles wandering into the kitchen, his tail wagging lazily as he sniffed around for scraps. unknowing of his future ambitions.